Street Arts
Charles Krafft & Mike Leavitt’s ‘Pitchfork Pals’ bombard London with the best of Seattle’s post-grunge visual art culture. A variety of handcrafted items transform StolenSpace Gallery into a sinister souvenir shop with dictator teapots, life-size human bone china shovels, cardboard tennis shoes and artist action figures. A sampling of individual projects frames the debut of this dynamic duo’s ‘Pitchfork Pals’ ceramic collaborations.
‘Pitchfork Pals’ spawn from an ongoing dialogue between two artists separated by 30 years of age who share a mission for art alternatives. Since 2005 the two Seattle natives have formed a series of media icons, politicians and celebrities such as Kim Jong Il, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Aleister Crowley, Nick Griffin and Amy Winehouse. Leavitt sculpts these busts 20 to 30 cm tall, then each edition is slip-cast and hand-painted by Krafft in his basement. Some become classic busts, teapots or the British “Toby mug” knick-knack. Taking pride in their handiwork, these two iconoclastic craftsmen are not armchair critics. The artists’ politics range widely, so their meditation on manufactured evil is not easily digestible. Looking into the deeply carved pupils of a ‘Pitchfork Pal’ conjures biographical depths underneath easy editorializing. Totemic power and sculptural nuance make these tainted characters undeniably mesmerising.
The show opens this evening with a private view, Thursday 14 May and will run at the gallery until the 30 May 2010.
StolenSpace | Dray Walk | 91 Brick Lane | London
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Street Arts
Krafft & Leavitt — Pitchfork Pals Show
‘Pitchfork Pals’ spawn from an ongoing dialogue between two artists separated by 30 years of age who share a mission for art alternatives. Since 2005 the two Seattle natives have formed a series of media icons, politicians and celebrities such as Kim Jong Il, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Aleister Crowley, Nick Griffin and Amy Winehouse. Leavitt sculpts these busts 20 to 30 cm tall, then each edition is slip-cast and hand-painted by Krafft in his basement. Some become classic busts, teapots or the British “Toby mug” knick-knack. Taking pride in their handiwork, these two iconoclastic craftsmen are not armchair critics. The artists’ politics range widely, so their meditation on manufactured evil is not easily digestible. Looking into the deeply carved pupils of a ‘Pitchfork Pal’ conjures biographical depths underneath easy editorializing. Totemic power and sculptural nuance make these tainted characters undeniably mesmerising.
The show opens this evening with a private view, Thursday 14 May and will run at the gallery until the 30 May 2010.
StolenSpace | Dray Walk | 91 Brick Lane | London
- Stolen Space's Winter Warmers' Christmas 09
StolenSpace Gallery are hosting their Christmas Group Show this Thursday. The show will feature all new works as well as exclusive print releases from their favourite notorieties and a few new faces for a taste of things to come in the new year. The show...
- Stolenspace Summer Show
Tonight sees the launch of Stolen Space's annual Summer group show. This year looks set to be the best yet with the gallery literally filled to the brim with new works from over 20 of their represented artists. The show will also include a few new...
- Word To Mother @ Stolenspace
‘Lost For Words’ opens at StolenSpace, in their Dray Walk Gallery on the 19th March and will showcase new works by artist Word To Mother. This much anticipated solo show, his third at StolenSpace, will feature paintings in mixed media on wood, canvas,...
- Under A Red Sky
Stolen Spaces Summer exhibition opens to the public today 18th July. The Group show features new work from Vitche (Brazil), Jana (Brazil), Vhils (Portugal), Word To Mother (UK), Shepard Fairey (USA), Andrew McAttee (UK) and Michael Leavitt (USA). The...
- Stolen Space Gallery Opens
Dface'sStolen Space Gallery re-opens and finds itself a permanent home in East London's Truman Brewery. StolenSpace exhibits the artwork of a genre yet defined, influences from skateboard graphics, graffiti, illustration, comic books and tattoo...